Payment cards such as credit or debit cards are ubiquitous and have been used by consumers for decades. Such cards typically include a magnetic stripe on which the relevant account number is stored. To consummate a purchase transaction with such a card, the card is swiped through a magnetic stripe reader that is typically connected to a point of sale (POS) terminal. The reader reads the account number from the magnetic stripe, and the account number is used to route a transaction authorization request that is initiated by the POS terminal.
In pursuit of greater convenience and more rapid transactions at POS terminals, payment cards have more recently been developed that allow the account number to be automatically read from the card by radio frequency communication between the card and a “proximity reader” which may be incorporated with the POS terminal. These cards are often referred to as “proximity payment cards” or “contactless payment cards” or “chip cards”, and include a radio frequency identification (RFID) integrated circuit (an “IC”, often referred to as a “chip”) embedded in the card body. A suitable antenna may also be embedded in the card body and if so, is connected to the RFID chip to allow the chip to receive and transmit data by RF communication via the antenna. In typical arrangements, the RFID chip is powered from an interrogation signal that is transmitted by the proximity reader and received by the card antenna. MasterCard International Incorporated, the assignee hereof, has established a widely-used standard, known as “PayPass™”, for interoperability of proximity payment cards and proximity readers.
The capabilities of a contactless payment card have recently been incorporated into a mobile telephone, thereby turning the mobile telephone into a contactless payment device. The payment card account number and other account-specific or device-specific information is loaded into the mobile telephone by a process typically referred to as “personalization”. Since mobile telephones come in many sizes and shapes, these mobile devices cannot be readily subjected to the same kind of automated personalization process that contactless payment cards typically undergo. Logistical problems also arise concerning transporting a mobile telephone or other contactless payment device to a personalization facility either after the user has purchased the mobile phone, or before placing the mobile phone in a typical mobile telephone distribution channel. Thus, for mobile telephones that are already in a distribution channel and/or already in the user's possession, in some markets “over the air” (OTA) data communications are utilized to personalize the mobile telephone by data communication via the mobile telephone network in which the phone operates. Such OTA personalization processes facilitate the offering of personalization services to the mobile sector.
The inventor recognized that there is a need for an in-market personalization system similar to that provided for mobile telephones for personalizing cards and non-card form factor (NCFF) devices for consumers. Such NCFF devices may include, for example, PayPass™ tickets, stickers, key fobs, wristwatches, wrist bands and the like, that may include an IC so that such devices can be used as payment devices. In particular, a need exists for providing convenient and easy to use personalization services to new markets currently considering the introduction of contact or contactless payments that will require the ability to instantly issue payment cards and NCFF payment devices to consumers.